It’s not often that outer South Western Sydney is the starting point for the rollout of new infrastructure.
But that’s exactly the case with Power Spots, a $1 million project to instal free phone chargers at railway stations.
The first one was unveiled and switched on earlier this week at Liverpool Station, to be followed by Campbelltown station a few days later.
Designed and built in Sydney for Transport for NSW, the charging stands offer a mix of wireless, USB-A and UBC -C options, and can provide power to seven devices at once.
“It’s great to see that the Minns Labor Government is delivering for the people of Liverpool – installing charging stations at train stations is a great common sense policy,’’ says Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda, pictured above helping to launch the Liverpool station charger.
“A powered-up mobile offers a real sense of safety and security for students, parents, and people riding on our trains at night.
“This is going to be especially convenient for all the students who travel to our local schools, our university campuses, our TAFE campus, and to the many people who use the train to get to Liverpool Hospital,” Ms Kaliyanda said.
Liverpool Station’s Power Spot is outside the pay gates on the concourse, opposite the entrance ramp to Bus Stands A to C.
It is free to access and use for anyone who needs it, including people travelling to and from the nearby hospital, schools and TAFE.
Station staff have worked closely with the project team to choose sites across the network that have high foot traffic, are easy to find, well-lit, and monitored by CCTV.
Electricity use at each Power Spot will be monitored and the data analysed to help understand the popularity of different wireless and USB charging solutions, and the average time people spend using them.
Power Spots will also be installed at Bankstown, Hurstville, Lidcombe, Penrith, and Wynyard, while larger stations including Central, Town Hall and Bondi Junction will get two per site.
All Power Spots will be up and running at 15 transport hubs across Sydney by late 2024.
Where possible, Power Spots will be installed outside ticketed areas to ensure they are accessible to anyone in the community 24/7.
